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Gut health experts share the 18 best ways to tackle IBS symptoms, as reported by the Daily Mail. IBS and SIBO symptoms can go hand in hand; as 80% of IBS patients may in fact have SIBO.

Dr. Simon Smale👨🏻‍⚕️, a gastroenterologist at Manchester University, claims we can transform our gut health with these top tips.

1. Choose red wine over spirits 🍷
2. Ditch carbonated drinks and enjoy herbal teas instead
3. That includes “diet” fizzy drinks
4. Ready-made meals are a no go
5. Take a clinically proven antibiotic 💊
6. If nothing is working, meet with a Dietitian
7. Limit your intake of onions and garlic
8. Eat less broccoli and cauliflower 🥦
9. Avoid Brussels sprouts
10. Watch out for fruits such as plums, nectarines, and mangoes
11. Improve your sleep routine 😴
12. Go to bed at the same time every night
13. Avoid bright lights before bed
14. Rollerblade around the block or go for daily walks
15. Get up from your desk to stretch every hour 🤸🏼‍♂️
16.Try incorporating yoga into your daily routine
17. Try two coffees per week instead of per day ☕️
18. Don’t leave long gaps between meals

Can you still have a drink with a Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth diagnosis?

The SIBO Specific Food Guide shares that the occasional alcoholic beverage (in a moderate amount) is approved with a low FODMAP diet. Their recommended choices include bourbon, gin, vodka, whiskey, scotch and wine. It’s important to choose your alcohol and mixers carefully. Choose juices that are low FODMAP including pure cranberry juice, fresh orange juice, or carbonated water. Ensure to stick within the approved amounts of juice and liquor to not off set your stomach (ie: 1/2 cup of orange juice over a two hour period.) Another handy tip is to have a well-balanced low FODMAP meal before drinking, such as a chicken breast over a bed of mixed greens with a side of buttered squash. Drinking water will also help slow down the drinking process.

The health of your gastrointestinal system is extremely important to your overall well-being. Largely responsible for the critical functions of the body’s digestive and immune systems, beneficial bacteria in your digestive system have the capability of affecting your body’s vitamin and mineral absorbency, hormone regulation, digestion, vitamin production, immune response, and the ability to eliminate toxins, not to mention your overall mental health.

Digestion, mood, health, and even the way people think is being linked to their “second brain”, also known as their gut, more and more every day. The Enteric Nervous System (ENS) is what scientists are calling the 100 million or so nerve cells that line our gastrointestinal tracts. The main role of the ENS is to control digestion, and in doing so it also communicates back and forth with the brain as to the overall health of the body’s gut and immune system.

The connection between gut health and mood has been known for some time, as individuals suffering from bowel-disorders such as Celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or leaky gut are more likely than others to also suffer from autoimmune diseases and mental issues such as depression and anxiety. Symptoms related to poor gut health can be as obvious like headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and immune system weakness.

Most often, dysbiosis is the result of too many bad “bugs” including bacteria, yeast, and sometimes parasites, and not enough good ones. This imbalance causes damage to the mucosal layer of your GI tract; the normally smooth intact mucosal layer becomes permeable, allowing food proteins to enter into the blood stream. This consequently activates your immune system, causing inflammation, food sensitivities, and a myriad of symptoms both in the GI system and throughout the whole body.